


just a little longer

by Alison_Parker



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Reader-Insert, he just needs some SLEEP, in this Sokka is a barista and a mechanical engineering student, no beta we die like jet, someone get this poor college student some sleep, tagging that because running on no sleep is really painful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alison_Parker/pseuds/Alison_Parker
Summary: Sokka doesn't know when to turn his brain off so Y/N makes him take a nap.
Relationships: Sokka (Avatar)/Reader
Kudos: 8





	just a little longer

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from my tumblr @sokkascroptop, but I crosspost :)  
> Prompt: "Please hold me. It's been a day."

Y/N was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework when she heard the front door slam, which was pretty normal on muggy days like today; the door frame would swell from the heat and the latch wouldn’t catch–at least that what she remembered Sokka explaining to her when they moved in.

What wasn’t normal was Sokka didn’t say a word to her when he came in. She heard his backpack drop to the ground–not on the bench by the door where they usually dropped their stuff and a grunt as he flopped onto the couch.

There was no ‘Y/N!!’ or ‘Baby!’ or even a simple ‘Hey!’ just silence that filled the apartment.

Y/N pushed her chair back and stood up to peek around the wall that separated the two rooms. “Sokka?”

He groaned in return.

Y/N made her way into the room and leaned over the back of the couch. His face was buried in a pillow, leaving just his wolf’s tail poking up out of the cushions.

Y/N brushed a few light fingers through the hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Tired,” Sokka mumbled.

Y/N’s heart gave a squeeze as she walked around the arm of the couch and knelt by his side. She scratched Sokka’s back lightly through his t-shirt. Sokka was one of those people who thought he could accomplish everything, that he could somehow fit 36 hours of work in a 24 hour day. But in reality, no one could do that, and every now and then, this was a result of those days. Sokka– burnt out, almost in tears from tiredness, and Y/N frantically trying to piece him back together.

She chewed on the inside of her lip and drew hapless circles with her fingers. “Didn’t you have that test today?”

Sokka nodded and turned his head in her direction. His eyes were red and already halfway closed.

Y/N’s eyes narrowed and she stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, “And I’m guessing you lied to me when you said that you got enough sleep last night.”

“No, I-I did, Y/N.” he broke eye contact with her.

“How much, Sokka?” She asked, exasperated. She was such a heavy sleeper that it was hard to know when Sokka came and went. But what she did know was that last night she fell asleep alone, and woke up to an empty bed too.

“Like three hours,” he mumbled.

Y/N sighed. She knew what the answer was going to be, even though she was off by a few hours. She leaned her chin on the couch cushion next to his face. “That’s not enough! You worked today too!”

Sokka’s eyes closed momentarily. “Yeah, today was rough.”

“What happened?”

“I would have been fine if I hadn’t had to work.”

“All nighters are not fine,” Y/N brushed some of the stray wisps of hair off his forehead.

Sokka rolled his eyes. “Three hours, Y/N. That’s not an all nighter.”

“I wouldn’t argue with me,” Y/N scowled as she smoothed her thumb over the crease in-between Sokka’s eyebrows. His eyes fluttered back shut, long enough that Y/N didn’t think they’d open again.

“When it gets warm out, the kids from the middle school like to walk to Iroh’s café after class and order bubble tea. Y/N, you know how much I hate bubble tea.”

Y/N smirked. “And middle schoolers?”

Sokka just closed his eyes and let out a snort.

“What can I do, baby?” Y/N asked. She always felt so helpless in these moments. As much as she wanted to, she wasn’t an engineering student, she couldn’t help Sokka with homework or go to work for him.

Sokka turned on his side and opened up his arms. “Can you please hold me.”

“Aw,” Y/N smiled and crawled in beside him, this was definitely something she could do. “Yes, I love cuddles.” She scooted in beside him and wrapped her arms around him, laying his head on her chest and tangling their legs together.

Y/N reached for his wolf’s tail, pulling out the hair tie and wrapping it around her wrist. She raked her fingers through the tangles and Sokka let out a soft sound of delight.

“How about we take a nap?” Y/N reached up and grabbed the folded blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around the two of them and using her feet to kick it over the length of their bodies.

Sokka began to squirm in her arms. “No—“

Y/N tightened her arms around Sokka back. “Stop moving.”

Sokka tilted his head up to frown at her. “It’s eight at night, if we take a nap now we won’t be able to sleep tonight. You have to work in the morning!”

Y/N shook her head and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. “It’ll be okay. We can wake up in a few hours and eat some frozen pizza, maybe watch a movie and depending on what time it is we can go back to sleep before I have to get up.”

Sokka eyes softened. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Y/N snuggled deeper into the couch and rested her head on top of Sokka’s. She wasn’t really tired and she had unfinished homework sitting on the kitchen table but none of that mattered in the moment. Sokka was always there for her, and she needed to be there for him too.

“Okay, but just a little longer.” Sokka muttered quietly.

Y/N smiled to herself as she felt Sokka’s breathing slow and heard him softly snore. One little evening nap wasn’t going to break her sleep schedule and if anything, it was going to fix Sokka’s. Y/N closed her eyes fully expecting to be awoken by one of their alarms the next morning, their midnight dinner forgone for rest that two tired college students desperately needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and kudos, I love hearing from you guys!


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